Best Building Better Leaders Podcasts (2024)

1
Ariel Kelman, CMO of Salesforce: AI Agents in Action 45:26

10h ago45:26

45:26

Full transcript It's easy to say you want your decisions to be data-driven. But as Salesforce CMO Ariel Kelman has learned, hard data doesn't tell the full story. Often, you also need to consider the qualitative. "Let's say you go and do some executive event series, where you have 30 people come to each event," he says. "It's not like if we want to…

1
Allyson Witherspoon, Global CMO of Nissan: Creativity is Queen 51:34

16d ago51:34

51:34

Full transcript Automotive marketing is fiercely competitive, and even though she's excited about the potential of AI, Nissan's Global CMO Allyson Witherspoon says an over-reliance on technology could be dangerous. She believes the safer bet is to continue to embrace creativity and a strong brand identity, even in an era dominated by AI and data-dr…

1
Manolo Arroyo, Global CMO of Coca-Cola: What Kind of Leader Are You? 1:02:55

30d ago1:02:55

1:02:55

Full transcript Manolo Arroyo, EVP and global CMO of the Coca-Cola Company, believes there are three types of leaders: One type lacks confidence in themselves and frequently changes the strategy; another buys time for themselves by changing the team around them; and the third decides to commit to the strategy and the team and get the work done. "[T…

1
S3 Ep1: How to manage inner and outer expectations in yourself, your kids and your team 46:30

1M ago46:30

46:30

Inspired by Gretchen Rubin's "The Four Tendencies" John & Rachael take a deeper look into Tendency Types. Gretchen's work looks into how you respond to expectations. Whilst not absolute people tend to fall into one of the following tendency types: Obligers need accountability Upholders want to know what should be done Questioners want justification…

1
Andy Rebhun, Chief Experience Officer of Cava: Bring the Weather 59:36

5M ago59:36

59:36

Full transcript Today on Building Better CMOs: Andy Rebhun, the chief experience officer at the fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava, talks with MMA Global CEO Greg Stuart about the importance of consistent authenticity, how to thrive in the C-Suite, and "bringing the weather" for everyone — including Uber Eats drivers. "We welcome every…

1
Linda Boff, Global CMO at GE: Servant of Purpose 54:05

6M ago54:05

54:05

Full transcript GE has changed a whole lot since Global CMO Linda Boff started working there, more than 20 years ago. It was once a sprawling portfolio company that made everything from microwaves to television shows; recently, it spun off its healthcare, energy, and aerospace divisions into three distinct public companies, and executives like Lind…

1
Charisse Hughes, Chief Growth Officer at Kellanova: Evolution of the CMO 48:46

6M ago48:46

48:46

Full transcript It doesn't matter how good your marketing is if you can't communicate its impact to the larger organization, says Charisse Hughes, senior vice president and Chief Growth Officer of Kellanova. Her firm spun off of the Kellogg Company last year to manage iconic brands like Pringles, Cheez-It, Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies Treats, as well a…

1
Michelle Crossan-Matos, CMO of Ulta Beauty: Visionary and Operator 34:05

6M ago34:05

34:05

Full transcript Some marketers think of themselves as operators and some see themselves as visionaries. But only the great ones, says Ulta Beauty CMO Michelle Crossan-Matos, understand that they have to be both. Just before the POSSIBLE conference in Miami, where she spoke to MMA CEO Greg Stuart, she was in Orlando, working to inspire 3000 leaders …

1
S2: Transforming wellbeing using AI with Shoorah founder Lorri Haines 1:05:29

7M ago1:05:29

1:05:29

In this month’s episode of the podcast, we are joined by serial entrepreneur Lorri Haines. Lorri and his fiancé Fearne McCann (Public figure and star of ITVBe’s My Family and Me) are co-founders of mental health and wellbeing app Shoorah. In this conversation we continue our theme of mental wellness and how mental health, and personal wellbeing can…

1
Andrea Zaretsky, CMO of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and E*TRADE: Can You Measure Customer Experience? 1:00:33

8M ago1:00:33

1:00:33

Full transcript Marketing is both an art and a science, but unless the science is sound, the rest of the company won't believe that you're driving results. So says Morgan Stanley Wealth Management CMO Andrea Zaretsky, who has devoted her entire marketing career — starting at American Express in 2003, with stops at Sephora and Toys-R-Us in between —…

1
S2: Navigating The Menopuase with Melissa Sookia 52:05

8M ago52:05

52:05

Melissa Sookia, founder of Live, discusses menopause, its impact on women in leadership roles, and the need for affordable treatment. Menopause symptoms vary and can affect productivity at work. Perimenopause starts with subtle changes like irregular periods and mood swings. Awareness is key in supporting women experiencing symptoms. Menopause can …

1
Leslie Sims, CMO of Impossible Foods: Remember the Human 1:00:29

8M ago1:00:29

1:00:29

Full transcript "At the end of the day," says Impossible Foods CMO and Chief Creative Officer Leslie Sims, "we're helping save the planet, we're helping the environment, but people don't necessarily want to hear that when they're eating a cheeseburger." The arrival of the plant-based meat industry came in the form of a scientific breakthrough: Food…

1
Nudge Theory with Rory Sutherland on "Stories and Strategies" 28:11

9M ago28:11

28:11

If you like Building Better CMOs, we think you'll also like "Stories and Strategies For Public Relations and Marketing," hosted by Doug Downs. In this episode, originally released in May 2021, Doug interviews Ogilvy UK vice chairman Rory Sutherland about nudge theory — the behavioral science concept popularized by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler's…

1
Kellie Richter, CMO of First Command Financial Services: Marketing a Mission 52:46

9M ago52:46

52:46

Full transcript By her own admission, First Command Financial Services exec Kellie Richter's official title is a mouthful. It's "EVP, Chief Marketing and Client Experience Officer" — but those aren't empty words to her. The clients who First Command cares about are military service members, veterans, and their families; even more than a regular fin…

1
Esther-Mireya Tejeda, CMO of Anywhere Real Estate: Emographics, Not Demographics 57:34

10M ago57:34

57:34

Full transcript To connect with their customers, companies have to understand them. But current approaches just don't work, says Anywhere Real Estate CMO Esther-Mireya Tejeda. Breaking those customers into demographic groups obscures important differences, and psychographic profiles are not easily targetable. The missing link is an emerging neurosc…

1
KAI Foundation Five - Episode 5 - “Leading Diverse Teams in Uncertain Times.” 34:43

10M ago34:43

34:43

Welcome to Part 5 of the KAI Foundation 5 podcast series, our five part introduction to building better teams and great leaders with the Kirton Adaption Innovation Inventory. KAI is the world's foremost measure for problem solving style. It's used widely to create cohesive and productive teams and effective leaders. It's been in use for over 40 yea…

1
Laura Jones, CMO of Instacart: Love the Challenge 51:01

10M ago51:01

51:01

Full transcript Laura Jones is Instacart's CMO and was previously the former global head of marketing, but she never explicitly set out to get jobs like those. "How did I end up here?" she asks. "It really centers on proactively seeking out learning opportunities." After stints at Deloitte, Visa, and Google, Laura's last two job hops were both moti…

1
Aron North, CMO of Mint Mobile: Marketers Have Lost Their Insight 1:01:13

11M ago1:01:13

1:01:13

Full transcript When Aron North was hired to lead marketing and creative at Ultra Mobile — the fastest-growing private company in the world, in 2016 — he had no idea what would be waiting for him on day one: The outlines of a new prepaid cell phone plan aimed at consumers, then called Mint SIM, which would be sold online only. Aron was blunt with t…

1
Zena Arnold, CMO of Sephora US: Balancing Brand and Performance 54:42

11M ago54:42

54:42

Full transcript The "brand versus performance" marketing debate happens in all industries, but no one appreciate the value of brand as performance better than Zena Arnold, the CMO of Sephora US. Her job requires her to balance the demands of both online and in-store operations ("I get emails every hour during our great sales," she notes), so perfor…

1
Vineet Mehra, CMO of Chime: "Performance Storytelling" is Brand AND Performance 1:02:21

12M ago1:02:21

1:02:21

Full transcript "We have this East Coast, West Coast dynamic going on in our industry," says Vineet Mehra, the CMO of Chime. But rather than 2Pac and Biggie, the split is between brand marketing and performance marketing — which Vineet says shouldn't be mutually exclusive. "Instead of integrating our worlds and realizing that all of this is now mar…

1
Rebecca Messina, Former Global CMO of Uber: Value Creation Mindset 1:08:40

1y ago1:08:40

1:08:40

Full transcript One of the three core principles of successful marketing operations, says McKinsey & Co senior advisor Rebecca Messina, is articulating and keeping to a clear mission. Sometimes, companies already have one, but "engagement in the mission is low." Other times, business leaders may think they have a mission, but it's wildly inconsiste…

1
Heather Freeland, Chief Brand Officer of Adobe: Advertising is Overrated 55:00

1y ago55:00

55:00

Full transcript “You need content to deliver a good customer experience.” Sounds obvious, right? Except in today's marketing environment, says Adobe's chief brand officer Heather Freeland, one campaign can require 5,000 unique assets: Consider every possible channel, multiply that by the number of audiences you're trying to reach, and that by the n…

1
Dara Treseder, CMO of Autodesk: Invest in Yourself 1:15:03

1y ago1:15:03

1:15:03

Full transcript Once upon a time, Autodesk CMO Dara Treseder was selected by her then-employer for an assessment with a professional coach, to see if she was executive material. "I knew I could, but I didn't think I would" make it to the C-Suite, she recalls. "And I didn't think I would because I didn't think anyone would give me the shot." The big…

1
Domenic DiMeglio, CMO of Paramount Streaming: Lead with Empathy 1:01:41

1y ago1:01:41

1:01:41

Full transcript How do you advertise a streaming movie or TV show? "Flashy campaign assets" like a trailer and key art are certainly part of it, says Paramount Streaming's head of marketing Domenic DiMeglio. But in the modern entertainment business, that's just the tip of the iceberg. In reality, he says, you need hundreds of assets that will appea…

1
David Mogensen, VP of Marketing at Uber: Not Embarrassed to Sell 1:04:25

1y ago1:04:25

1:04:25

Full transcript Uber's big Super Bowl campaign this year was a hit: In the ad, actual Uber executives try to convince Diddy to produce a jingle for the company's membership program, Uber One. The entertaining spot was "about as blatantly overt about selling as you can get," says VP of Marketing David Mogensen — and he's proud of that. "As an indust…

1
Andrea Brimmer, CMO of Ally: Great Privilege, Great Pressure 1:02:50

1y ago1:02:50

1:02:50

Full transcript As recently as the late 2000s, if you wanted to launch a new banking brand you needed brick-and-mortar branches. But GMAC, a spinoff of GM that was bought by private equity firm Cerberus, didn’t have the liquidity to build or buy a network like that. Joining the company as a brand executive and later becoming its CMO, Andrea Brimmer…

1
Mike Raffensperger, Chief Commercial Officer of FanDuel: Second Screen Success 1:09:30

1y ago1:09:30

1:09:30

Full transcript There are some necessary dividing lines in FanDuel CCO Mike Raffensperger's line of work. The most obvious one is that online sports gambling is legal in 19 states, but not others. The company also refuses to do name & likeness deals with college athletes because many of them aren't old enough to gamble, Mike explains. But he outrig…

1
Kellyn Smith Kenny, CMO of AT&T: Beware of These Famous Fails 58:54

1+ y ago58:54

58:54

Full transcript When CMO Kellyn Smith Kenny joined AT&T in 2020, she led an ambitious overhaul of the company's purpose; as is the case in many companies, this required a huge amount of customer research, and countless workshops and conversations with employees from across the company. But after landing on a stronger brand — to connect people to gr…

1
Zach Kitschke, CMO of Canva: Design For Everyone 50:37

1+ y ago50:37

50:37

Full transcript The online design software Canva has more than 130 million users around the world, but it wasn't obvious 10 years ago that the Australian startup would one day be a runaway hit, valued at $40 billion. Just ask CMO Zach Kitschke, who was employee number five. He was hired to do communications and marketing, but also wound up being ta…

1
S2: Increasing Wurkplace Wellbeing with Claire Burns 1:04:01

1+ y ago1:04:01

1:04:01

What does wellbeing in the workplace mean to you? There’s a lot of talk about mental health, and mental wellbeing, yet when it comes to understanding the full breadth and depth of our wellness this nowhere near the full story. Are your people happy, healthy and comfortable? In this episode Rachael & John are in conversation with Claire Burns Health…

1
Diana Haussling, Colgate-Palmolive North America: Is the Funnel Dead? 1:00:10

1+ y ago1:00:10

1:00:10

Full transcript Colgate-Palmolive has been in business for more than 200 years, and it won't be around for another 200+ unless its operators continue to innovate, says Diana Haussling, the company's VP and GM North America Consumer Experience & Growth. "It's really important that we don't have a sense of entitlement," she says. "We are parts of a b…

1
Mayur Gupta, CMO of Kraken: When the S**t Hits the Fan 1:00:53

1+ y ago1:00:53

1:00:53

Full transcript Mayur Gupta attributes everything he understands about marketing to his background as an engineer, the safest career path for a young person in India. He pivoted twice: First to Sapient's ad tech product BridgeTrack, and then to his first proper role in marketing, joining Kimberly-Clark in 2012. Today, Mayur is the CMO of the Kraken…

1
Jonnie Cahill, CMO of Heineken USA: Buy the Idea 1:02:19

1+ y ago1:02:19

1:02:19

Full transcript Jonnie Cahill has served as CMO of Heineken USA since 2018, overseeing the marketing for some of the world’s biggest beer brands, including Heineken, Dos Equis and Tecate. He also worked on their alcohol-free beer, Heineken Zero, including a Super Bowl TV spot starring Paul Rudd as Ant-Man from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. On this…

1
Linda Lee, CMO of Meals and Beverages at Campbell's: Scientific Method 53:32

1+ y ago53:32

53:32

Full transcript Since 2019, Linda Lee been the CMO of Meals and Beverages at Campbell Soup Company, and she also chairs MMA's North America board of directors. Her pre-Campbell's resume includes stints at Procter & Gamble, General Mills, and Mondelēz International. But before all that, she was a scientist, earning a BS in chemical engineering. On t…

1
Norm de Greve, CMO of CVS Health: The Framework Crisis 40:08

1+ y ago40:08

40:08

Full transcript As CMO of CVS Health, Norm de Greve has overseen some incredibly important and sometimes controversial campaigns, including the removal of cigarettes from all of their stores in 2014. More recently, CVS has made a point of calling out when photos of models have been retouched, and is offering both virtual and in-person mental health…

1
Welcome to Building Better CMOs 1:50

1+ y ago1:50

1:50

Is marketing as good as it can be? And what does its future look like? When they talk about marketing, a lot of people stick to what they know: Concepts and theories that they believe to be true, and maybe they were, once. But a lot of those frameworks are just wrong or out of date. The truth is that marketers today face a constantly changing envir…

1
S2: Leading Counter Terrorism Covert Operations with Mike Bates 50:46

1+ y ago50:46

50:46

In this podcast Rach & John talk to Former Counter Terrorism Covert Operations Leader and HUMINT specialist turned Entrepreneur and Solo Ocean Rower – Mike Bates. Born and raised in Doncaster, Mike carved out a career that most boys would dream of. Spending years undercover as a human intelligence specialist, covert counter-terrorism operations lea…

1
Focus on Work & Wellbeing - interview of Nicola Kirton by Karen Pawlowska of TakeOne Business Communications 11:47

1+ y ago11:47

11:47

Wellbeing and Diversity are hot topics at the moment, and in this podcast, Nicola Kirton discusses the importance of understanding and respecting our various cognitive styles. We all think, operate and problem solve in different ways - this preference is set very early in life. Here Nicola discusses how this natural preference can help us: make goo…

1
S2: The Great Return 48:36

1+ y ago48:36

48:36

Everyone keeps talking about where they want to work, how they'd prefer to work, yet employers often have a different view; the media have dubbed it "The Great Return," so for those of you with Zoom fatigue, or perhaps people who are reluctant to be in the workplace John & Rachael thought it was worth talking about. With more questions and answers …

1
S2: Coaching for different generations with David Harper 1:11:24

1+ y ago1:11:24

1:11:24

In the second podcast on 2023 we chat with David Harper, Career Coach. David is an ex CIO for a major UK insurance company with extensive experience of leading people in a £4bn business. In 2015 David was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, initiating his own career move into coaching. David’s true purpose is helping people achieve. We talk to him abou…

1
S2: Leading yourself & managing time with Jonathan Mills 1:05:08

2y ago1:05:08

1:05:08

In the first episode of 2023 John & Rachael are joined by Business Coach and entrepreneurJonathan Mills. Jonathan started this career as a footballer for Cambridge Untied but at age 18 fell into a franchise business model that would pave the way for him to own and lead not one but four businesses. Jonathan shares his habits on effective time manage…

1
S1: Learning in coaching never stops with Sue Baker 1:17:37

2y ago1:17:37

1:17:37

In this weeks episode John & Rachael are joined by Executive Coach, Sue Baker. Sue has been working as a coach working with leaders at board level in large corporations since the 1990's. Sue talks about how coaching has changed over the last couple of decades and how organisation and leaders requirements of coaching are changing as the challenges t…

1
S1: How to have better Difficult Conversations 35:59

2+ y ago35:59

35:59

In this episode Rach & John visit the subject of Difficult Conversations, a topic which they cover in depth on their Building Better Leaders Programme. “Good intentions don’t always result in good impact.” Often with the best of intentions things can go wrong, and the impact you intend is never the one you had in mind. They tackle the subject from …

1
S1: Presenting for exceptional performance with Lee Warren 59:10

2+ y ago59:10

59:10

In this weeks episode Rachael & John are joined by Lee Warren to understand how using the Alexander Technique can help us communicate and perform better when under stress? The way that you think affects the way you perform, and vice-versa; the way you perform affects the way you think Remembering that stress is very uncreative, Lee take a little st…

1
S1: The Four Leadership Styles 24:23

2+ y ago24:23

24:23

In this weeks podcast Rachael & John cover four different leadership styles. How do you like to be led? Is it always the same for every aspect of your role? When you're leading you team do you always use the same approach? They differentiate between Directing, Coaching, Supporting and Delegating leadership styles explaining when and where you can e…

1
S1: Leadership 101 - a great intro for newbies 23:34

2+ y ago23:34

23:34

On the podcast this week, in Leadership 101 a bitesized approach to: what leadership is and what it isn't how leadership differs from management where best to use a directive or non-directive style In the Coaching approach we ask which leader(s) have influenced you, what kind of leader are you? and what other leadership possibilities might be open …

1
S1: The Value of Appreciation with Andrew Robshaw 17:57

3y ago17:57

17:57

In this weeks podcast we speak to Andrew Robshaw who after a life changing Parkinson’s diagnosis decided to pursue a question that had plagued him most of his working life. What is the true meaning of value? And how can businesses better measure value in real time by looking beyond traditional accounting and economic processes we currently use. Som…

1
S1: 2021 in Review 1:01:02

3y ago1:01:02

1:01:02

We celebrate this episode by summarising the past year, sharing a little of our personal histories and reviewing the year spent with our wonderful guests. We chat about our school age experiences and what shaped us as youngsters, and how & when our careers started. What did we see and hear at work, reflecting on the great leaders, and the not so gr…

1
S1: Cultural Leadership with Gert Jan Hofstede 1:05:55

3y ago1:05:55

1:05:55

In this weeks episode we meet Gert Jan Hofstede Professor at Wageningen University and co-author of “Cultures & Organisations - Software of the Mind.” He is a speaker and trainer about cross-cultural issues, evolution of culture, organisational behaviour, trust and transparency, specialising in agent-based models of socio-technical systems. In unde…

1
S1: Devolved Leadership with Andy Copsey 1:18:17

3y ago1:18:17

1:18:17

In this weeks episode Rachael & John are joined by Andy Copsey Ex-Chief Operating Officer for Handelsbanken UK. Andy shares his early experiences of Leadership and how he contrasts the changes when moving to Handelsbanken in 2001. He explains how they adopted a Devolved Leadership model from Jan Wallander and how its appeal intoxicated Andy, as he …

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Building Better Leaders Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide